Since the Malaysian court verdict imposing a ban on non-Muslims using the word ‘Allah’ has had a worldwide media exposure recently, I deem it my obligation as a Muslim to let rest of the Muslim world know that the verdict does not conform to any of the tenets as set down in the.... Full story...

The Mughals adopted a two-pronged policy of consolidation of their imperial rule. “At the elite level they endeavoured to absorb both Muslim and non-Muslim chieftains into the imperial service, thereby transforming potential state enemies into loyal servants. They also sought to expand the.... Full story...

When I was a student at Cambridge in the mid-sixties, the summer would see a host of girls from Europe, particularly Norway and Sweden, visiting the University town with its glorious burst of flowers and punting along the Cam which is no bigger than a canal in Bangladesh. But the.... Full story...

So the play of Narendra Modi aka Na Mo is on. And if he finally makes it to Delhi, which is very likely to happen, India’s secularist mask will receive a sudden jolt for the second time in the last 66 years of independence. The most jubilant section of Modi’s backers are the RSS and.... Full story...

You see what is important is friendship and one ought to learn how to sacrifice everything for friendship. What if one Felani is hanging from the barbed wire, we can afford hundreds of Felanis to hang from the barbed wires to the full view of the world and still prove it’s a friendship.... Full story...

There is a growing concern for Bangladesh as the timeline for the next general elections is fast nearing its deadline. Up until now there has been no change in the attitude or even body language of the two major political parties for a fruitful dialogue to happen. Ban Ki-moon’s telephone.... Full story...

Salman Khurshid’s efforts to introduce the Land Boundary Agreement(LBA) Bill in Indian Parliament met with stiff opposition from unexpected quarters. This time it is not BJP – the strident opposition came from Mamata Banerjee’s lawmakers and the Asom Gana Parishad’s.... Full story...

In an exclusive interview with The Independent’s Delhi correspondent Kumkum Chadha, India’s union minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid called the Land Boundary Agreement(LBA) between Bangladesh and India a post-wedding photograph. That implies that the wedding is in place,.... Full story...

Stories come in handy in bringing home certain unpleasant truths about the society you live in. There are some advantages of telling stories. The narrator can make use of the fiction that reflects on the fact which otherwise is unpalatable. So the story serves as a convenient cover for the.... Full story...

Of late whenever I think of corruption as a social phenomenon, I am reminded of an Urdu couplet which reads like this: Gulistan ki barbadi mein ekhi ullu kafi hain/ Har shakh pe ullu baitha hain anjame gulistan keya hoga (For the destruction of a garden just one owl is good enough; now there are.... Full story...

Ever since my column, ‘Too much of a price to pay for poetry” was published last Thursday, I have had two very intimate responses from abroad. Ms Hannah Sholder, a masters student at Berkeley, University of California wrote: ‘I am writing to thank you for the very kind editorial.... Full story...

Ahmed Ilias, who is considered the doyen of Urdu poetry in Bangladesh, was given a rousing reception on his 80th birth anniversary celebrations at a city community centre. The event was synchronized with the publication of his research on Urdu in Bangladesh – a meticulous work that digs.... Full story...

During the last 42 years after the War of Liberation, there has been a sea change in the mindscape of the people living in the rural areas. The War of Liberation dealt a tremendous shock to the psyche of the villagers living peacefully in the lush green delta washed by the hundreds of rivers.... Full story...

I consider Jute as something of great value to the life of the majority of people living in the deltaic plains washed by the three mighty rivers – the Padma, the Jamuna and the Meghna. Biologically, it is a fibrous tropical plant that grows in wet soil and can survive in standing water. Its.... Full story...

Sounds strange, but BNP is not celebrating its resounding success in the city corporation polls, nor does Awami League seem to look to have received a deadly punch in the election bout. What makes a difference from the past is the way the winners and losers are embracing each other and accepting.... Full story...

Professor Harunur Rashid is a Cambridge Gradute, former professor of North South University, now Teaching English at International Islamic University Chittagong(IIUC), Dhaka Campus. Contributing as an Associate Editor of The Independent and former DG of Bangla Academy.

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